Illuminated display case



March 26; 1946 JAMES v 3 R. 22,735

ILLUMINATED DISPLAY cAsE' Original Filed'Jan. 29, 1944' go. z| i I mvanTOR.

Park's r- H. Jqmes a. Ah0rnej Reissued Mar. 26, 1946 ILLUMINAT EDDISPLAY CASE Parker'H. James, Indianapolis} Ind. Original N- :2,355,731,dated Augustli, 1S2- .rial. No. ,520,174,Janna-129 1944.

App ica i n for reissueJuly 18, 1945, SeriallNo. .60 5,'.B48

This invention relatesto means for illuminating a display case of thattype wherein there is a top and front glass wall preferablyyinq-oneintegral piecewithout any upper, forward corner strip. A primaryobject-of the invention, is to illuminate the interior of thecasein suchmanner that there will be, uniform light distribution throughoutv theinterior of the case-without any appreciable shadows beingcreated-uponthe goods therein to be displayed. A further primary object of theinvention is to .-illuminate thecase without having to employa lamporother illuminating meansalong the upper, forward portion of the case ashas heretofore-been the practice.

In the present form of the invention, the front-and top of the case isformedin one continuous piece of glass. bent fromthe vertical or frontface around andover to form the top of the case so that visibility ofthe contents displayed within the case is not interfered with by anyglass support pieces or the like. By use" of the invention herein setforth, the entire interior of the case is illuminated without anyvisible point or line source of light, and yet .butzasingle position ofthe light source is employed whereby the cost of installation andofelectriclenergyis reduced to the minimum.

These and other objects and advantages ;,of the invention will become"apparent "to those versed in the art in the following gdescriptionpfone particular form of theinvention-as illustrated in-the accompanyingdrawing-in which Fig. 1 isaview in front elevation of .astructureembodying the invention;

Fig. 2, a top plan View; and

Fig. 3, a view in vertical transversesection ,on the line.33 in Fi 1.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the severalviewsrinthe drawing.

Upon a suitable. base, proper tohave a floor H with front and backopaque panels I! and II respectively extending vertically therefrom. Endwalls. Hand [lextend vertically upwardly from vthe ,f 1oor .beyond thepanels I! and I3 at. leastv to the. desired height of the case.

Between these end .walls [4 and, I5 is mounted the front and topinclosure, formedof the single piece, of glass 16 to ,have its lower endmounted on the top edge of the panelv l 2 and to extend verticallytherefrom to a top curved portion, H, through whicheportion .the glassis bent around rearwardly to continue therefrom in a horizontal topportion 18. The rear edge of this top pori0 is built adisplaypcase itslower ed by. thepanel tion. lltenninates, at a slight .distanceforwardly of the reanside ofthe case and is supported by the ,top opaquerail 19 which extends across hetweenandis supported. by,the end walls l4and. 15. .Thus theglass I6 is supported along 12 and along its rearedgegby, the. .rail l 9,,a'll without any intervening corner.striparoundjthei bent portion. l1.

.lThe rear offthe, case. is preferably inclosed by any suitable means,such as by the two sliding doors. 20 land 21,.the top, and bottom edge.portions of wm'chtare..suitablyguided in slots pro-'- vided inthe,moldingjzland 23, carried respectiyelvby. thev top,v rail 19 and the,rear, panel l3. A. translucent .subifloor ,24 is .iixed between the endwalls l.4 .an d, [.6 to, be s bstantially horizontal and .in..,snacedrelatlonabove thefloor. ll ,.asindicated',in; Fi g.i;3. ,In the ,presentform of the invention, "the rearedge of this sub-floor 24 issupportedalong .a. ,houlder provided on the rear panel.- l3 and is."held. .thereagainst by means of the, molding Z3 ,bein...p0sitionedacross, the top side ,of. th floor. an a ai t th fr nt. fa f the panel[3 which is provide d ,to extend above he. l y lof. thei oor; 24. ront.edge. o t e floorfl is'located at a distance behind the panel 12, asindicated in Fig. '3.

'Iih .lnnerfac o thefront panel. [2 i vided .with amirmr .2 r reflectingurface pr ferabl ver i en ir r a. tin, a y nt extending, above and belowthe, leveLof the ubfloor2 4,t he major portion of the rnirror'25 beingbelow that level. Below the central zone of the rear panel i3andextendinglongitudb nally thereacross'is mounted a lamp 26, preferablyof 'thefiuorescent type, as indicated by the drawing, to be, in tubularform.

Mounted underthe top rail [9 is a mirror 21 or reflectingsurface-positioned to slope downwardly 'fromnearthefront edge portion ofthe rail l9, and rearwardiy to the molding 22 in the form of theinvention herein shown, In other words, this-niirror 21- is diagonallypositioned across the 'COmBT'DBtWGGH the top rail l9 and the molding 22.

' i ht. manatin ifr mthe lamp. .may trav l upw rd y throu h theLtrnluQenti floor 24. to b diflusedthroughout the case thereabove. Forwarly .tr velinsray iromthe lamp. 6 wil trike-th substantial y yrticallydisposed mirror 25....an'd. dependin -JlPQ the angle .of impthereon. will bere'flefledin p r wd asonall a a nst .1th ..-;;t1oor -24.and ..in part upward y through the gap between the 'front' edge of thefloor 24 and the mirror 25,

such reflected rays upper rear portion of being directed rearwardly andupwardly rather than toward the front wall of the glass l6. Some ofthese rays coming through that gap will strike directly upon the surfaceof the top mirror 21 and be reflected back downwardly and towardthe-floor 24'. The diffused light above the floor 24 will also be tendedto be reflected downwardly and toward the floor 24 by the mirror 21.

By this peculiar" arrangement of the tran'se lucent floor 24 and the twomirrors 25 and 21 disposed as indicated, the entire interior of the caseappears to glow with light without any apparent light source, and yetobjects placed upon the floor 24 will appear to be well illuminated fromall sides and their tops without casting appreciable shadows. In fact,the objects so located on the floor 24 will be extremely attractivelydisplayed and will appear to sit out in space.

, The interior faces of the end walls and I5 as well as of the panels 20and 2| are preferably made to be light reflecting, such as beingfinished in white. Likewise the top side of the floor II and the forwardside of the rear panel l3 are finished in white to tend to reflectlightrather than absorb it. The floor 24 is referably made out of glass,either sanded on one side or its body made either entirely or in part oftranslucent glass rather than clear glass. Obviously the glass wall I6is transparent, and to the casual observer appears not to exist when theinterior of the case is illuminated as above described.

The width of the gap between the forward edge of the sub-floor 24 andtheface of the mirror 25 is held to a relatively small dimension. Forexfrom front to back, and'a height of twenty-one inches above thesub-floor 24, 'thisgap will be approximately two inches wide. 4

While I have herein shown and described my invention in the oneparticular form, it is obvious that structural Variations may beemployed without departing from the spirit of the invention and Itherefore do not desire to be limited to that precise form beyond thelimitations as may be imposed by the following claims.

I claim: 7

1. In a display case having a continuous transparent front and topinclosure, a floonand front and rear opaque walls extending from saidfloor to at least the level of the lower end of said inclosure, thecombination of-a translucent subfloor spaced above said floor having afront edge spaced back of said front opaque wall to leave an openingtherebetween; a light source below said su -floor adjacent said rearopaque wall; a light reflecting surface on the inner side of said frontopaque wall; and a light reflecting surface in the said case back ofsaid top inclosure and disposed to reflect light downwardly andforwardly. v

2. In a display case having a continuous transparent front and topinclosure, a floor, and front and rear opaque walls extending from saidfloor to at least the level of the lower end .of said inclosure, thecombination of a translucent sub-floor floor adjacent said rearopaquewall; a light re-. fleeting surface on the inner side of saidfront opaque wall; and'a light reflecting surface in the upper rearportion of said case back of said top inclosure and disposed to reflectlight downwardly and forwardly; said light source consisting of atubular fluorescent lamp extending along said rear opaque wall near saidfloor; and end walls, between which said inclosure, opaque floors, andsub-floor extend; the inner sides of said end walls and said rear opaquewall being light reflecting.

3. In a display case having a continuous transparent front and topinclosure, a floor, and front and rear opaque walls extending from saidfloor to at least the level of the lower end of said inclosure, thecombination of a translucent subfloor spaced above said floor having afront edge spaced back of said front opaque wall to leave an openingtherebetween; a light source below said sub-floor adjacent said rearopaque wall; a light reflecting surface on the inner side of said frontopaque wall; and a light reflecting surface in the upper rear portion ofsaid case back of said top inclosure and disposed to reflect lightdownwardly and forwardly; said front opaque wallreflecting surfaceextending above said'subfloor and terminating at least substantially atthe lower level of said front inclosure.

4. In a display case having a continuous transparent front and topinclosure, a floor, and front and rear opaque walls extending from saidfloor to at least the level of the lower end of said inclosure, thecombination of a translucent subfloor spaced above said floor having afront edge spaced back of said front opaque wall to leave an openingtherebetween; a light source below said sub-floor adjacent said rearopaque wall; a light reflecting surface on the inner side of said frontopaque wall; and alight reflecting surface in the upper rear portion ofsaid case back of said top inclosure and disposed to reflect lightdownwardly and forwardly; said light source consisting of a 40 tubularfluorescent lamp extending along said rear opaque wall near said floor;and end walls, between which said inclosure, opaque floors, andsub-floor extend; the inner sides of said end walls and said rear opaquewall being light reflecting; and a light reflecting surface across therear of said case between said sub-floor and said top disposedreflecting surface.

5. A display case comprising a floor; front and rear opaque panelsextending upwardly therefrom; end walls across said panels extendingfrom said floor and'above the panels; a transparent front wall extendingfrom the top of said front panel and curving around and rearwardly in acontinuous manner toward the tops of said end walls to form a top tosaid case and terminate by a rear edge forwardly of a vertical planeincluding said rear panel; a top panel receiving said rear edge andfilling in the space between it and said plane; a rear case inclosurebetween said rear and top panels; a sub-floor of translucent material atsubstantially the level of the top edges of said front and 'rear panels,said sub-floor terminating by a frontedge back of said front panel toleave a slot-like opening therebetween; a light source distributed underand longitudinally across said sub-floor toward said rear panel andspaced between said fioor and said sub-floor; a light refleeting surfaceon said front panel continuing above and below the level of saidsub-floor; and a light reflecting member mounted under said top paneland sloping'rearwardly and downwardly in respect to said case top.

' PARKER H. JAMES.

